Israelites

Quick Facts: Who was Israelites?

Subject:

Israelites

Known for:

Ancient Semitic people from Canaan, foundational to Judaism and Jewish identity.

Died:

Living / None

Verified Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

The Israelites, also known as the Children of Israel, were an ancient Semitic-speaking people who lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. They are associated with the Hebrews and spoke Biblical Hebrew, an archaic form of the Hebrew language. According to the Bible, the Israelites were composed of twelve related tribes who united by forming the eponymous United Kingdom of Israel. Historically, Israelites founded the two Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Modern scholarship describes Israelite highland settlement as emerging from indigenous Canaanite populations and other peoples of the ancient Near East.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

The Israelite religion revolved around Yahweh, who was an ancient Semitic god with initially limited significance in the broader Canaanite religion. Around 720 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, triggering the Assyrian captivity; and around 586 BCE, the Kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, triggering the Babylonian captivity. While most of Israel's population was irreversibly dispossessed as a result of Assyrian resettlement policy, the exiled Judahites were allowed to return and rehabilitate their country by the Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great following the fall of Babylon in 539 BCE. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, the Israelites were the descendants of Jacob (later known as Israel), who was a son of Isaac and thereby a grandson of Abraham. Due to a severe drought in Canaan, Jacob and his twelve sons migrated to Egypt, where each son became the eponymous progenitor of an Israelite tribe.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

In Egypt, the Israelites grew from a family into a nation and were enslaved before being liberated by Moses, whose successor Joshua oversaw the Israelite conquest of Canaan. After taking control of Canaan, they established a kritarchy, and eventually founded the United Monarchy, which eventually split into Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Scholars generally consider the Hebrew Bible's narrative to be part of the Israelites' national myth, but believe that there is a "historical core" to some of the events in it. The historicity of the United Monarchy is widely disputed. In the context of Hebrew scripture, Canaan is also variously described as the Promised Land, the Land of Israel, Zion, or the Holy Land.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Israelites

True or False: “The Israelites were always recognized as a single, unified political entity throughout their entire history in Canaan.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): Their history involved periods of unity (United Monarchy) followed by divisions into separate kingdoms, notably Israel and Judah.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Israelites